The Fall of the House of Usher (1950 film)

The Fall of the House of Usher is a 1950 British horror film directed by Ivan Barnett and starring Gwen Watford in her film debut, with Kaye Tendeter and Irving Steen. It is an adaptation of the 1839 short story of the same title by Edgar Allan Poe.

Synopsis
The film uses a framing device set in a gentlemen's club where one of the members reads to his friends from a copy of Poe's book.

A century before, a young man visits a bleak-looking mansion in the English countryside where his friend Lord Roderick Usher lives with his sister Lady Madeline. They are both mysteriously ill and he discovers that they are suffering from a curse caused by their father which will lead to them both dying shortly, resulting in the downfall and end of the ancient family of Usher.

Cast

 * Gwen Watford (credited as Gwendoline) as Lady Madeline Usher
 * Kaye Tendeter as Lord Roderick Usher
 * Irving Steen as Jonathan
 * Vernon Charles as Dr. Cordwall
 * Connie Goodwin as Louise
 * Gavin Lee as the butler
 * Keith Lorraine as George
 * Lucy Pavey as the hag
 * Tony Powell-Bristow as Richard
 * Robert Woolard as Greville

Production and release
The film was made in Hastings by a low-budget company GIB Films. Ivan Barnett produced the film and also worked as director and cinematographer. The film was made in 1948, but it was not released until 1950. It was issued an 'H' Certificate, a rarity at the time, by the British Board of Film Censors. Despite its limited budget the film proved surprisingly successful on its release as a second feature and even topped the bill in some cinemas. It was reissued in 1955 and again in 1961. It may have been an influence on the subsequent development of Hammer Horror.